After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Ben Swift finally proved the full extent of his potential when he continued Sky's great start to the classics season by taking third in Milan-Sanremo. Always attentive near the front, the Brit rode a near-perfect race to claim a podium spot in the race he had always dreamed about.

Ben Swift produced one of the finest performances of his career to claim a superb third position at Milan-San Remo.
 

The Brit was able to keep his powder dry in soaking wet conditions for much of the day before appearing right at the front of the race heading into a breathless finale.

Sitting in fourth descending off the final climb of the Poggio, Swift was well-positioned before a regrouping in the final kilometre brought a host of top sprinters back into contention.

Clearly one of the strongest riders in the race, the 26-year-old was undeterred as he eked out a small gap on the finishing straight to edge onto the podium in the first Monument Classic of the season.

Heading into the twin-climb finale of the Cipressa and the Poggio, Swift had team-mates for support, with Salvatore Puccio and Edvald Boasson Hagen both present in the elite front group.

Puccio (who ended the race a strong 12th) helped shut down key gaps before driving on the front up the Poggio to bring the race back together. Boasson Hagen would fade slightly over the top of the final climb ahead of a tense run-in.

In the final kick, it was Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) who prevailed on the soaking-wet home straight. The Norwegian had the power to hold off Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and the fast-finishing Swift after nearly seven hours of racing.

After finally warming up again after a freezing race Swift talked about what the achievement meant to him and how the dramatic finale played out.

He told TeamSky.com: "It’s the race that I’ve looked at in the past and dreamed about over the years. It’s the one big race where I could see myself getting a result because normally that sort of terrain is where I’d have pretty good legs. So to go there and do that today was a really great feeling.”

294 kilometres in the cold is not many people's idea of fun. Swift admitted the conditions were tough on the peloton, adding: "My hands were so cold. I was struggling to do anything with my fingers. I couldn’t do up my rain cape and things like that.

"I never felt bad in the race I was just cold. As it went on I just felt better and better. Then once we took the rain capes off and the racing really started I felt a lot better. When we got onto the climbs the rain did affect a lot of people. We were expecting a lot of attacks but they just never really materialized.

“The team rode together all day. The plan was to keep out of sight a little bit but to be at the front for the final climbs. I came around and got into a really good position at the bottom of the Cipressa and that helped a lot.

"Heading into the finish I was just looking to stay safe down the Poggio and stay in contact with the front guys. I knew that you needed good position down there to make it as easy as possible. I didn’t really know how many people were in the group or not but I just tried to stay as far forward as I could. It turned into a bit of a track race once we got into that final 3km. There were always guys willing to put moves in and then once it came to the sprint it was just about trying to pick the right wheel. I got boxed in a little bit but luckily I managed to find a way out."

Sports Director Dario Cioni was happy to see the team pull together in foul weather with another fine performance at Milan-San Remo.

“The conditions were not as bad as last year but it was not a nice day to be on the bike," he confirmed. "It seemed okay in Milan but then it started raining and it did not stop. It was also quite cold – 7-8 degrees most of the time – so it was a tough one for everyone.

“Everyone did a really good race. Early on Christian (Knees) and Gabba (Rasch) did a good job to keep the guys sheltered. Obviously it wasn’t easy today with the wet roads and going in and out of the towns. The plan was to save as much energy as we could ahead of the Cipressa and then from there to the finish go for the result.

“Geraint (Thomas) suffered with the cold but luckily Salva rode another really good race and Edvald and Swifty were right up there. It was good seeing the boys sticking together and riding to a plan.”

Cioni also praised Swift for a landmark ride and a big result in his career after seeing his recent progress hampered by injury.

“Everyone is really happy for Ben as he has been working really hard over the winter,” he added. “He really deserved this result. If you look at who he finished ahead of – he saw off some amazing sprinters. The result should give him confidence and he really deserves it.”